There are already some massive transfers that have been confirmed and will go through this summer, with plenty going through before the three-year PSR accounting deadline of June 30.
Players are ranked by size of the initial fee, with add-ons stated.
1) Michael Olise (Crystal Palace to Bayern Munich) – £45m plus add-ons
You will keep reading this is a £50m-plus transfer but it’s only a £50m-plus transfer if it is a success; the initial fee is £45m. But the truth is that we fully expect it to be a success because Olise is brilliant for Crystal Palace. It is a great transfer for all concerned.
2) Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa to Juventus) – £42.35m
Much to their chagrin, Champions League qualifiers Aston Villa were forced into a major sale to comply with PSR rules and avoid any potential future points deductions, with midfield lynchpin Luiz their chosen sacrifice. In a theme of this summer’s window, the Premier League club are getting a couple of players in return from the Turin side in separate deals.
3) Endrick (Palmeiras to Real Madrid) – £40m plus add-ons
This fee could change as more details emerge because reports have put the initial fee Real Madrid agreed to pay the Brazilian club over 18 months ago anywhere between £30m and £50m. We are going with the transfermarkt version for now and the truth may never actually emerge. What we do know is that Endrick signs for Real Madrid as soon as he turns 18 and that Brazil bloody loves him.
4) Max Kilman (Wolves to West Ham) – £40m
West Ham are suddenly the third-biggest spenders in Europe this summer after signing Kilman. They will inevitably fall a few places as the window progresses, but Kilman is certainly a coup after he was linked with several elite clubs.
5) Ian Maatsen (Chelsea to Aston Villa) – £37.5m
Had a big hand in Borussia Dortmund’s charge to the Champions League final last term having moved to the Bundesliga side on loan in January, though he didn’t cover himself in glory in the final. That’s another significant chunk of pure profit for Chelsea, who have made around £170m through the sale of academy graduates in the last two seasons.
6) Elliot Anderson (Newcastle to Nottingham Forest) – £35m
A huge amount of money for a 21-year-old with 44 Premier League appearances – only 13 of those from the start – who’s yet to earn a cap for Scotland, but Anderson is firmly in the There’s Something About Him category, would have played more last season were it not for a significant spell out with a back injury, and we’ve probably now just got to accept that the going rate for budding academy talent these days is about twice what it should be.
7) Archie Gray (Leeds United to Tottenham) – £30m
Leeds United described themselves as ‘heartbroken’ to see teenager Gray depart but he has secured an excellent move just days after he seemed to be on the move to Brentford. As is customary this summer, Tottenham also sold Joe Rodon to Leeds United in a ‘separate’ deal.
8) Yankuba Minteh (Newcastle to Brighton) – £30m
Lyon made a move for Minteh, at which point the 19-year-old insisted he had his heart set on Everton, which we thought was a bit odd, until Brighton came calling and we realised he was actually just keen to remain in the Premier League. The fact that it is Brighton who have got the deal over the line will be of great concern to Newcastle fans given the Seagulls’ transfer market excellence, adding to the frustration that they’re allowing a teenager who got ten goals and six assists on loan at Feyenoord last season to leave at all.
9) Igor Thiago (Club Brugge to Brentford) – £30m
A transfer record broken for Brentford when the season was net yet over, the Bees proactively planning for the presumed departure of a forward who remains on their books. The 22-year-old cost £30m and scored 29 goals in 55 games for Club Brugge last season, providing a further six assists for the Belgian champions and Conference League semi-finalists. If he can replicate anything close to that form in England, the Brazilian will take Ivan Toney’s place whether he is sold or not.
10) Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (Leicester City to Chelsea) – £30m
Enzo Maresca has gone back to Leicester to sign Dewsbury-Hall as City had little choice but to log a profit ahead of the PSR deadline at the end of June. “It is amazing to be sitting here as a Chelsea player,” said Dewsbury-Hall.
11) Lewis Hall (Chelsea to Newcastle United) – £28m rising to £35m
Would Newcastle have completed this transfer if it was not a mandatory part of the loan? We will never know. What we do know is that Hall started only eight Premier League games in his first season on Tyneside. What will encourage him and Newcastle is that seven of those starts came in the run-in.
12) David Raya (Brentford to Arsenal) – £27m
An initial £3m loan that ended in the Golden Glove has seen a permanent £27m switch triggered for the Spaniard. “After a year on loan as a Gunner, I can finally say that I’m an Arsenal player for the coming years. I’m excited to see what the future holds but always living in and enjoying the present,” said Raya, who has absolutely seen off Aaron Ramsdale.
13) Moussa Niakhate (Nottingham Forest to Lyon) – £27m
The PSR shenanigans is not just confined to the panicky Premier League clubs as French club Lyon have helped out Forest by throwing over £50m at them for Niakhate and Mangala if you include the latter’s loan fee. Forest have more than doubled their money in two years on Niakhate.
14) Mats Wieffer (Feyenoord to Brighton) – £25.4m
An Eredivisie winner and full Dutch international, Wieffer joins Brighton as, in the words of technical director David Weir, “one of the best deep-lying midfielders in Europe”.
15) Ernest Nuamah (RWDM to Lyon) – £24m
The Ghanaian international winger has signed for the big-spending French club after a season on loan.
16) Davide Frattesi (Sassoulo to Inter) – £23m rising to £28m
Some of those add-ons may already have been triggered after the central midfielder was a bit-part player (six starts) in Inter’s Serie A title win last season.
17) Omari Hutchinson (Chelsea to Ipswich) – £20m plus add-ons
Could have called this one on the day Ipswich got promoted. Hutchinson was brilliant for them last season and Chelsea weren’t about to turn down £20m of pure profit.
18) Luis Sinisterra (Leeds United to Bournemouth) – £20m
After making only seven Premier League starts in an injury-hit season, the Cherries were able to renegotiate with Leeds so they could make the Colombian’s loan move permanent.
19) Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Manchester City to Southampton) – £20m
There has been a procession of young Manchester City players to Southampton over the last two years but it’s telling that the England Under-21 stalwart was the only one to start the play-off final win over Leeds United. He has been at the heart of their promotion success and the Saints would consider him a £20m bargain to make the move permanent.
20) Orel Mangala (Nottingham Forest to Lyon) – £19.8m
After signing Said Benrahma from West Ham, Lyon returned to the Premier League to capture Mangala on a permanent deal after a loan spell which actually only saw him start four Ligue Un games. Handy profit now logged by Forest.
